Apparently, I have a growing fondness for detective series
I have a list of stuff I've wanted to post about since Tuesday and now I'm looking at it and not feeling compelled to discuss half of it. So, I shall just cut to the TV thoughts since that is the one thing I have a compulsion to post about.
Castle
It occurred to me that perhaps it would be best if series pilots were not reviewed by the critics. I've seen some harsh criticism of Castle and while it does have it's faults, I think the potential is certainly there for a good, if not reinventing the genre, show. How many pilots are actually great? There are lots of shows I love where I was not blown away by the pilot, but was intrigued enough to keep tuning in. Star Trek: The Next Generation ran for seven years, but will anyone say that 'Encounter at Farpoint' was fabulous? Unless a pilot is truly awful on every single level (I'm looking at you Flash Gordon) I'll give a series time to find it's footing and I sometimes fear critics turn people off a show before the potential viewers have the opportunity to check it out for themselves.
Castle has going for it what The Mentalist has going for it - an attractive, charismatic lead, adept at both comedy and drama. In lesser hands, Rick Castle would not have come off quite so endearing. But I also want to give some credit to the writers for making the character, under the bafoonishness, intelligent. He really seems to know his stuff. Life might be a bit of a joke to him, but it seems he's put a lot of research into his writing and the knowledge he acquired stuck. He actually does help the police, not just get in their way.
And it's a really ballsy move for a successful writer to kill off their cash cow of a character. It may be just one indication he's grown tired of the life he's living.
As for the supporting characters, they are a mixed bag of cliches. Castle's daughter, Alexis, is wise beyond her years, playing parent to her parent. But I like her. And given Alexis is 15 and Castle is presumably not yet 40 (assuming he and Nathan are the same age), Castle became a father at a young age, seemingly before he was ready. I'm curious as to who and where Mom may be because it didn't seem as if his ex was her mother.
I really like Susan Sullivan and wish she had more to do than play a boozier and much floozier variation of Kitty Montgomery (her character from Dharma & Greg). Right now, she seems like the kind of mother you'd pay to stay away, not live with you.
Kate Beckett and her relationship with Castle hasn't intrigued me, yet. Right now, she seems like a stereotypical by the book cop who, of course, is going to be frustrated saddled with a crazy writer. And while I buy the premise that Castle would be brought in by the police to help solve murders based on his book, they really need to sell me on allowing him to hang out at the station and help solve cases every week.
And here's Nathan on Jimmy Kimmel's show. He talks about conventions and I admit I got a bit of a thrill when he mentioned Dragon Con:
Law & Order: UK
Yep, Jamie still looks very pretty. :) And by the time this episode was filmed the dyed hair must have grown out and he was getting more sun because his hair is definitely looking blonder.
I was relieved the series got away from dead children after two weeks, but I have to say I was a bit bored with the case. I have a feeling I saw the original L&O episode this episode was based on. I also felt some of the guest actors were telegraphing their guilt. The victim's boss was obviously lying when confronted about the mysterious $1,000 payments.
Another problem I have is that both prosecutors wear their heart on the their sleeves, not just for the victims, but often the people they are trying as well. I'm enjoying both Freema and Ben Daniels in their roles, but I just wish there was less sameness in their personalities and approach to their cases. I find myself missing Jack McCoy's emotional detachment and hard ass tactics.
Life
Awww, Bobby is being replaced as Charlie's partner. :( I've enjoyed watching them work together. It's been interesting to see the contrast in their abilities and I wonder if Charlie's time in prison has made them closer. It's clear Charlie would have made detective had he not been set up and sent away while it's likely Bobby would still be exactly where he is now. Bobby being 'left behind' could have put a huge strain on their friendship.
Considering how bad the photoshopping of Dani was into that shot with Rayborn, I'm trying to determine if Dani was actually there on board the yacht or not. My feeling is someone is trying to drive a wedge between Charlie and Dani, hoping one will turn on the other.
And how cute was Dani passing along to Tidwell information as to how he needed to communicate with Charlie? And Charlie taking it as a sign the she missed him? I also liked that even though he has Bobby and Tidwell to bounce ideas off of, he still is calling Dani for help. Thus far, I think the writers are doing a good job of working around Sarah Shahi's pregnancy.
In random entertainment news....
The podcast is still not up for 'Islanded in a Stream of Stars'. No word on why it's been delayed, but some posters at the SciFi Forum suspect that Ron may be finding it increasingly difficult to talk about the episodes because the episodes all tie in together at this point. I can buy that. And I would rather have him wait to discuss the episodes rather than listen to him talk about things other than the specific episode.
I've been reading various articles about Watchman and it's successes and failures as an adaption of the graphic novel. Every single article has criticized the WTF? use of music, especially the use of 'Hallelujah'. Hee.
Yesterday, I was looking at behind the scenes photos and video from the BSG TV Guide photoshoot and lamenting Jamie couldn't be part of it. Then it occurred to me that TV Guide had the oh so original idea to pair up the couples from the show - Mary and Eddie, James and Tricia. So, had Jamie been there we would have gotten photos of Jamie and Katee. At that moment of realization I felt a little bit of relief he wasn't there. Sorry, L/Kers, you can virtually throw things at me. ;p
Castle
It occurred to me that perhaps it would be best if series pilots were not reviewed by the critics. I've seen some harsh criticism of Castle and while it does have it's faults, I think the potential is certainly there for a good, if not reinventing the genre, show. How many pilots are actually great? There are lots of shows I love where I was not blown away by the pilot, but was intrigued enough to keep tuning in. Star Trek: The Next Generation ran for seven years, but will anyone say that 'Encounter at Farpoint' was fabulous? Unless a pilot is truly awful on every single level (I'm looking at you Flash Gordon) I'll give a series time to find it's footing and I sometimes fear critics turn people off a show before the potential viewers have the opportunity to check it out for themselves.
Castle has going for it what The Mentalist has going for it - an attractive, charismatic lead, adept at both comedy and drama. In lesser hands, Rick Castle would not have come off quite so endearing. But I also want to give some credit to the writers for making the character, under the bafoonishness, intelligent. He really seems to know his stuff. Life might be a bit of a joke to him, but it seems he's put a lot of research into his writing and the knowledge he acquired stuck. He actually does help the police, not just get in their way.
And it's a really ballsy move for a successful writer to kill off their cash cow of a character. It may be just one indication he's grown tired of the life he's living.
As for the supporting characters, they are a mixed bag of cliches. Castle's daughter, Alexis, is wise beyond her years, playing parent to her parent. But I like her. And given Alexis is 15 and Castle is presumably not yet 40 (assuming he and Nathan are the same age), Castle became a father at a young age, seemingly before he was ready. I'm curious as to who and where Mom may be because it didn't seem as if his ex was her mother.
I really like Susan Sullivan and wish she had more to do than play a boozier and much floozier variation of Kitty Montgomery (her character from Dharma & Greg). Right now, she seems like the kind of mother you'd pay to stay away, not live with you.
Kate Beckett and her relationship with Castle hasn't intrigued me, yet. Right now, she seems like a stereotypical by the book cop who, of course, is going to be frustrated saddled with a crazy writer. And while I buy the premise that Castle would be brought in by the police to help solve murders based on his book, they really need to sell me on allowing him to hang out at the station and help solve cases every week.
And here's Nathan on Jimmy Kimmel's show. He talks about conventions and I admit I got a bit of a thrill when he mentioned Dragon Con:
Click to viewLaw & Order: UK
Yep, Jamie still looks very pretty. :) And by the time this episode was filmed the dyed hair must have grown out and he was getting more sun because his hair is definitely looking blonder.
I was relieved the series got away from dead children after two weeks, but I have to say I was a bit bored with the case. I have a feeling I saw the original L&O episode this episode was based on. I also felt some of the guest actors were telegraphing their guilt. The victim's boss was obviously lying when confronted about the mysterious $1,000 payments.
Another problem I have is that both prosecutors wear their heart on the their sleeves, not just for the victims, but often the people they are trying as well. I'm enjoying both Freema and Ben Daniels in their roles, but I just wish there was less sameness in their personalities and approach to their cases. I find myself missing Jack McCoy's emotional detachment and hard ass tactics.
Life
Awww, Bobby is being replaced as Charlie's partner. :( I've enjoyed watching them work together. It's been interesting to see the contrast in their abilities and I wonder if Charlie's time in prison has made them closer. It's clear Charlie would have made detective had he not been set up and sent away while it's likely Bobby would still be exactly where he is now. Bobby being 'left behind' could have put a huge strain on their friendship.
Considering how bad the photoshopping of Dani was into that shot with Rayborn, I'm trying to determine if Dani was actually there on board the yacht or not. My feeling is someone is trying to drive a wedge between Charlie and Dani, hoping one will turn on the other.
And how cute was Dani passing along to Tidwell information as to how he needed to communicate with Charlie? And Charlie taking it as a sign the she missed him? I also liked that even though he has Bobby and Tidwell to bounce ideas off of, he still is calling Dani for help. Thus far, I think the writers are doing a good job of working around Sarah Shahi's pregnancy.
In random entertainment news....
The podcast is still not up for 'Islanded in a Stream of Stars'. No word on why it's been delayed, but some posters at the SciFi Forum suspect that Ron may be finding it increasingly difficult to talk about the episodes because the episodes all tie in together at this point. I can buy that. And I would rather have him wait to discuss the episodes rather than listen to him talk about things other than the specific episode.
I've been reading various articles about Watchman and it's successes and failures as an adaption of the graphic novel. Every single article has criticized the WTF? use of music, especially the use of 'Hallelujah'. Hee.
Yesterday, I was looking at behind the scenes photos and video from the BSG TV Guide photoshoot and lamenting Jamie couldn't be part of it. Then it occurred to me that TV Guide had the oh so original idea to pair up the couples from the show - Mary and Eddie, James and Tricia. So, had Jamie been there we would have gotten photos of Jamie and Katee. At that moment of realization I felt a little bit of relief he wasn't there. Sorry, L/Kers, you can virtually throw things at me. ;p